George Patton is a Professorial Fellow in Adolescent Health Research at the University of Melbourne and a research fellow at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. With a clinical background in child and adolescent psychiatry and training in epidemiology, Professor Patton has been widely involved in adolescent health research and policy development in Australia and internationally. He has led studies in a broad range of areas including community prevention, long-term follow-up studies of adolescent and young adult health and synthesis of data to build the world's first global profiles of adolescent health. Professor Patton is a regular contributor to teaching in adolescent health at the University of Melbourne and is regularly invited to give presentations and seminars internationally. He has had advisory roles with the United Nations, World Health Organization, the World Bank, UNICEF and UNFPA, and played a lead role in two series on adolescent health for the Lancet, one of the world's leading medical journals. He currently chairs the Lancet Commission on the Health and Wellbeing of Young People, an international consortium with representation from 14 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America that brings together experts in public health, economics, political and social science, behavioural science and neuroscience to consider strategies for advancing adolescent health globally.